Connect to Veterinary Medicine: September 2009

September 2009

Welcome to the September 2009 edition of the Connect to Veterinary Medicine, the latest news and information from the College of Veterinary Medicine at The Ohio State University.

News at the College

Dean Lonnie J. King offers insights for faculty and staff

Dr. King completed his first three weeks as dean in the College of Veterinary Medicine by providing faculty and staff with the first in a series of biweekly memos designed to keep the college informed of current activities and future plans. His first "Notes from the Dean's Office" included acknowledgment of staff recognition awards, appreciation for the warm welcome he received from alumni during Alumni Reunion Weekend, an outline of the process he will use to adapt to his new position, and a link to information about the Veterinarian Services Investment Act (H.R. 3519).

Help us improve our web site!

The college recently welcomed Brian Kildow as our new webmaster. He is spending time getting to know the various services and departments to refine a plan to improve our web site. As alumni, your opinions of our web site – and your suggestions for improvement - are important to us. He has created a web-based survey to gather suggestions. Please take about 10 minutes and give us your feedback. If you have clients who have been referred to the Veterinary Hospital and who may have used our web site, please encourage them to complete the survey also. We appreciate your input!

College mourns the loss of outstanding teacher

Dr. Cliff Monahan, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, passed away at his home on September 15. He taught parasitology to veterinary students and graduate students in the College of Veterinary Medicine for more than 12 years, and was one of the first faculty members to incorporate "clicker" technology in the classroom to ascertain student learning. The winner of a Norden Teaching award, and nominated numerous times for additional teaching awards, Dr. Monahan was known for his caring style. He was also known for his environmentalism, riding his bike to work each day, and his generous spirit. Dr. Monahan regularly traveled to Africa, working to improve the lives of animals and people through enhanced agricultural methods. He received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Colorado State University and his Ph.D. in microbiology and parasitology from Louisiana State University. In lieu of flowers, Dr. Monahan's family requests that a donation be made to one of his favorite charities in his name: Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, WOSU Stations, or the newly created Dr. Clifton Monahan student scholarship fund (College of Veterinary Medicine, 125 VMAB, 1900 Coffey Rd., Columbus, OH 43210).

College Pelotonia participants raise thousands for cancer research

Faculty, staff and students rode, raised money and volunteered with the inaugural 2009 Pelotonia bike tour. Pelotonia, an annual grass roots bike tour, raises money for innovative and life saving cancer research at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. Riders could choose from one day routes of 25 miles, 50 miles or 100 miles; or the two-day trek of 180 miles.

Veterinary Hospital Update

The September-October 2009 edition of the "Veterinary Hospital Update" was sent in the most recent OVMA Newsletter. This edition focused on often-complicated respiratory cases, which typically require interdisciplinary collaboration across many services in the hospital. View a PDF version of the four-page newsletter.

October Big Ten Network programming

The university benefits from a tremendous team of professionals across campus that create non-sports programming to air on the Big Ten Network (BTN) that highlights the academic, research, economic and community impacts of Ohio State. Program listings are now available at the Ohio State calendar at www.osu.edu. In particular, plan to tune in to see "24OSU," when five Ohio State University students are featured including Kristin Couts, a 2009 graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine, on October 14 at 3:30 a.m., October 23 at 4:30 p.m. and October 27 at 3 p.m.

Upcoming Events

Lectureship to Honor Nobel Prize Recipient

John Coffin, Ph.D. has been chosen to give the Howard Temin Memorial Lecture on October 14th, 2009 as part of a mini-symposium on "Comparative Models of Leukemia and Lymphoma" at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. All alumni are invited to hear his presentation and take part in lunch and a tour of the new lab space of the Center for Retrovirus Research, now housed in the Veterinary Medicine Academic Building. This full day conference will provide education and awareness on comparative pre-clinical models of leukemia and lymphoma from a distinguished group of internationally renowned presenters made up of research scientists, veterinarians, and physicians. The symposium will also convene the opening of the new Center for Retrovirus Research laboratories and serve as the opening day of the International Association for Comparative Research on Leukemia and Related Diseases (IARCLRD) Symposium XXIV, "Molecular Approaches to Leukemia in the 21st Century: Biology Outcome Prediction and Personalized Therapy" to be continued on October 15 and 16 at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center in Columbus.

Attend the lecture and tour the labs at CRR Open House

You and your guest are cordially invited to attend an open house to celebrate the new laboratory space of the Center for Retrovirus Research (CRR) following the Howard Temin Memorial Lecture, presented by Dr. John Coffin, Tufts University, as part of the mini-symposium, "Comparative Models of Leukemia" Wednesday, October 14, 2009, Veterinary Medicine Academic Building, 1900 Coffey Road. The lecture will be held from 11 a.m. -12 p.m., with lunch and tour immediate following from 12-1:30 p.m.

Animal Welfare Symposium: October 16, 2009

On October 16, a symposium on farm animal welfare at The Ohio State University will offer perspectives grounded in science and education on Ohio's farm animal production practices. The "Ohio State Animal Welfare Symposium: Building Partnerships to Address Animal Welfare," is being held in the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center in Columbus, Ohio.

The symposium will celebrate a formalized partnership with the Animal Welfare Science Centre of Australia, examine issues surrounding animal welfare, highlight current animal welfare research and encourage balanced discussions. The symposium is organized by Ohio State's College of Veterinary Medicine and the Department of Animal Sciences in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Continuing education credit is available. Learn more about the symposium.

Vet Med in the news

Ohio State selects animal-borne disease expert as dean

Bosco continues to improve

Bosco, the Zanesville police K-9 shot in the line of duty in August, continues his rehabilitation and improvement. He is now able to return home for weekend visits, and will continue his rehabilitation work three to four days a week in the Veterinary Hospital. His case demonstrates the depth of the human-animal bond, from the daily visits from his partner, Office Mike Schiele, the outpouring of public interest in the regular updates on our web page, to the coverage by numerous print and broadcast media. Bosco's case also demonstrates the interdisciplinary expertise and outstanding level of care in our Veterinary Hospital. Emergency and Critical Care, Neurology and Canine Rehabilitation played vital roles in determining a course of treatment that has resulted in a successful outcome. In the past week, he has been featured in the Zanesville Times Recorder, WBNS-TV, plus a live appearance on WBNS-TV with Officer Schiele, the Lantern on September 28 and October 1, and WCMH-TV.

Alumni Updates

Alumni Reunion Weekend 2009 Wrap-up

More than $22,000 was raised at the Friday night auctions held during the banquet at the Buckeye Hall of Fame Café. We also had our best attendance ever at our Friday Continuing Education sessions, including standing-room-only for Dr. Dean Richardson's keynote presentation, "The Barbaro Story," which was attended by many faculty and staff from the college who enjoyed hearing his talk. On Saturday, the annual membership and board meeting was followed by newly named Dean Lonnie King, who spoke on "The Future of Veterinary Medicine." Dr. King was preceded by Ohio State Alumni Association President and CEO Archie Griffin. After the dean's talk, everyone enjoyed the tailgate and barbecue, followed by an exciting – albeit disappointing – football game versus the USC Trojans.

In Memoriam

Robert F. Cross (DVM 1946)

Robert F. Cross, 85, of Wooster, passed away September 1, 2009, at Wayne County Care Center. He was born May 6, 1924, in Columbus, the son of Joseph and Addie (Roberts) Cross, and married Lois Anne Hagenbuch in 1946. She died in 1977. He married Eileen Buehler Bupp in 1980. She survives.

Robert attended The Ohio State University and received a DVM degree in 1946. He
spent one year in the U.S. Army while attending Ohio State and two more years after
graduation. He returned to Ohio State in 1948 as an instructor of veterinary pathology and received a master of science degree in 1950. Starting in 1951, he served as a veterinary pathologist for the Territory of Hawaii, and also served as the zoo veterinarian from 1952-58, lectured at the University of Hawaii from 1955-58 and was a partner in a general veterinary practice from 1955-58. In 1958, he moved to Purdue University as a founding faculty member of the College of Veterinary Medicine and received a Ph.D. in 1961. He moved to Wooster in 1966 as a professor in the Department of Veterinary Science at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. He retired in 1987. Surviving in addition to his wife, are children, Susie Cross of Brattleboro, Vt., Joseph (Jan) Cross of Strongsville, Dan (MaryLou) Cross of Apple Creek and Birdie (Tom) Weckesser of Smithville; stepdaughters, Carlye (Frank) Cebul of Wooster, Pam (Dan) Pearch of Tarpon Springs, Fla., Peggy (Bob) Elvey of Wooster and Susan (Lynn) Schonauer of Wooster; grandchildren, Bobby (Katie) Cross of Parma, John (Corey Ringle) Cross of Beechwood, Andrea (Justin) Robinson of Sierra Vista, Ariz., Phillip Cross and Lee (Kylie) Cross, both of Toledo, Chrystal (Mike) Gleim of Columbus, Jake (Stacey) Weckesser of Westerville, Katie (Brent) Coleman of Medina and Mary Weckesser of Smithville; step-grandchildren, Jackie (Greg) Wasilewski of Shelby, Jolene (Kelly) Buchenroth of Kenton, Jerry (Stacey) Badger of West Salem, Heather (Jeff) Phillips of Gastonia, N.C., Seth (Tracy) Pearch of Delaware, and Heidi Aukerman of Celina; four great-grandchildren; and 10 step-great-grandchildren. Contributions may be made to Hospice & Palliative Care of Greater Wayne, 2525 Back Orrville Road, Wooster 44691; or Wayne County Care Center Auxiliary, 876 S. Geyers Chapel Road, Wooster 44691.